Mark Wahlberg on AI “used the right way”: from the film set to a digital legacy

Actor, director, entrepreneur and investor, Mark Wahlberg took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt to champion a simple idea: AI has a place in cinema if it improves the story, never if it replaces the people who tell it. And he left an unexpected headline: he would not rule out his children one day managing his digital double.

Mark Wahlberg is not just a Hollywood star. He is also an entrepreneur, a startup investor and one of the most recognisable faces where entertainment meets business. That is why his appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt, one of the year’s major technology gatherings, in conversation with TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos, was so eagerly awaited.

His position was clear. Wahlberg supports artificial intelligence when it is used to enhance the work. What he rejects is the temptation to ask a chatbot for a script and do away with actors. For him, story must remain at the centre: he admitted he is now less drawn to effects-driven films and more to what he calls “real storytelling”.

AI in service of the story

Wahlberg plays baseball legend Pete Rose in an upcoming biopic. He explained that the production may use artificial intelligence to recreate or enhance elements such as the stadium — one of the great challenges of an ambitious and costly film. This is the use he champions: technology that expands what is possible without taking the spotlight from talent.

A legacy that can live on

The most talked-about moment came when the conversation turned to the future. Asked about the facility run by CAA, Hollywood’s powerhouse agency, which scans actors to create digital replicas, he said he had not yet visited but would be interested.

And he went further: he said he is open to an AI version of his likeness continuing his legacy once he can no longer perform, with his children or grandchildren in charge of that digital identity. Nor would he oppose Ted, the animated franchise he stars in, carrying on for decades with a digital version of him.

Image: Mark Wahlberg at the Time 100 gala. Photo: David Shankbone / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).